Throwing Stones At These Glass Houses
by Ms.Dawes
Summary: Rachel Dawes is just returning a favor to Dr. Jonathan Crane.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Batman Begins Characters.

Summary: Rachel Dawes is just returning a favor to Dr. Jonathan Crane.

Pairings: Jonathan Crane/Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne/Rachel Dawes implied.

_**Throwing Stones at these Glass Houses**_

Silence inserts its scarring blade.  
No one, no one, is listening anywhere  
my meager thoughts left standing, charred knobs  
of trees, stubby teeth along a past wall  
of fire.

Who's there? My door is open.  
Will you not come in?

By Pam Wagner

Epilogue - When I'm gone

"Hurry up! Come on!?" She shrieked at him repeatedly. But it seemed what ever had transpired here tonight in Gotham were of no real concern to him. So much that even his own safety didn't seem to bother him momentarily.

After all, it was the long standing 'plan' of his that had set tonight's events in motion.

Rachel Dawes Ex-ADA, bracing one broken arm in an unprofessional sling against her chest, with her good hand clutching Jonathan Crane's arm deathly. Well, Dr. Jonathan Crane. Who was tall, pale, disheveled, bruised about the face and neck & currently, a hefty pain to drag along with her.

It didn't matter how lean he looked to someone from a distance, he was just as hard to move as a strongly rooted plant, almost as if he were purposely planting his feet on the ground, ready to wrench himself away at the slightest tilt in the atmosphere and run back towards the burning, trembling city awash with sirens and cascading horrified screams from unsuspecting denizens watching mayhem spread across there equally hated and loved city.

She still risked turning back to see whether someone had followed them or not. The street lights shone remarkably bright…just like the exploding fires she ducked and ran from earlier.

No one had followed them.

She sighed with momentary relief and started walking on ahead again. There was no real need to be dragging him like that. It wasn't as if he were the one physically hurt and lacking. She was the one with the broken arm and profusely bleeding leg, she should have been leaning on him. But ironically, as fate would have it, Dr. Crane had a dose of his own medicine. Literally, in his case his carefully created toxin and was now partially or fully insane.

Or not?

She wasn't sure. She didn't have time to figure that out yet. It didn't matter much now.

Nothing did.

Once upon a time she knew would have been more than happy to see him like this …broken, helpless with his usual smug, satisfied smile wiped off of his face, his plans thwarted before they could reach full maturity… but now she almost felt sorry for him.

He kept seeing bats in every dark alley they passed waving at the air wildly until she consoled him with tight slaps across his seemingly strong jaw.

"Ms. Dawes?"

She glanced back at him wary and fearful suddenly because she thought she heard foot steps somewhere behind them. "What?" she snapped. He quickly looked away again like some kind of sheepish child whose just been scolded.

"Jon-…Crane? What is it?" She prodded again an octave higher.

"Nothing Ms. Dawes"

Something in her wanted to snap, explode and tear him into pieces. For being this lost and hurt, for dragging her into this, for destroying the meager list of morals she has hung onto for so many years in this ultimately hopeless town and suddenly let go by just helping someone like crane get out of the city he only accelerated the destruction of.

Just to return a favor she reminded herself again. Just to return a favor.

She just felt a little sorry for him. Sorry, because he was a strange, twisted individual and his morals re-molded by cruelties committed against him.

She had known him before Bruce, after Bruce, in high school and valiantly struggled unconsciously for years to avoid him but again irony struck with it's pointed sharpness in the dark and a false promise of reflected light and threw her against him.

The man she had struggled to avoid, crush under her expensive legal boots, and sometimes hate because of the display of his maddeningly superior intelligence had somehow dragged her into to the grand scheme of things without really making her do anything against her will or morals but merely by his resilient silence towards her.

It wasn't her hostility towards him that made him shrink away from her. He was used to it.

It was when she had killed a man in self defense and cold blood , then left him to die, Crane had somewhat willingly helped her by staying silent all these years about it and never hinting at her crime to gain an upper hand in any of the situations she had to encounter him.

She had been frightened to ask him for days, months, weeks, even a few years …why?

It's when he had finally told her in his formal, clipped tone on the phone that her downfall didn't affect him in any way and that there was clearly nothing she could do for him for which he should spend his time and energy trying to emotionally black mail her into being party to his deeds, whatever they were at that time. So he wouldn't bring up the murder she had committed. He didn't care.

He hadn't wanted anything from her except to leave him alone.

It was when they had had a 'moment', 2 weeks ago, in her office by the open window, when they both were trembling, she with emotion and he with fear, while the sun was going down as if it was some sad testimony to the worlds ugly injustice and irony…she had stood on the tips of her toes for what felt like a brief moment, closing her pinkie finger around one of his fingers, shut her eyes and leaned forward while he stood stock still looking down at her with wide eyes, almost shrinking back from what he knew was coming but not quite.

He wordlessly let his face tilt down slightly to meet her lips. Slowly, she's not sure which one of them parted lips trying to deepen the closed mouth kiss. But then the shrill ring of her phone had snapped them both out of it and the moment had gone just as it had come. And it took along with itself Jonathan Crane who had disappeared as soon as she had hastily; red cheeked picked up the receiver and answered it with tingling lips and loose hair.

It was when he had almost poisoned her with the toxin but had for some reason decided against it. And when he had come looking for her after breaking out of Arkham that she had felt it was imperative to 'help' him leave. Maybe if he left…it would be all normal again.

Maybe she'll find the morals she worked so hard to keep.

The theory, was practically insane, she knew that. But she couldn't imagine why else she would do something like this. It couldn't be love for god's sake! She knew that he knew that they didn't feel any remote stirrings of such emotions.

Time and place had hardened them into working towards their goals.

"Oof!"

She had stumbled over some invisible obstacle on the street and had almost gone flying face first on to the rough ground; before she could actually crash down gracelessly, firm hands gripped her by the arms and pulled her up. She bit her lip at the explosion of white hot pain in her broken arm but righted herself while Jonathan Crane held her up and fixed his crooked glasses which were perched unevenly on the bridge of his nose. As if he had just come back to his senses.

Well it was about time wasn't it?!

"You could come with me…" he said it without a shred of uncertainty, not deliberately forcing it on her but mostly dazed with awe and intrigue. He was staring at her as if she were some newly discovered species he couldn't wait to take to his lab and start testing on.

Or not.

Rachel sighed loudly "Come with you? And what? Be your evil sidekick?" she allowed a humorless laugh to escape her lips as she struggled to find her footing and Crane narrowed his eyes at her disdainfully as usual.

"You don't have a job anymore, there's nothing to stay here for"

"Don't be so sure" She snapped at his 'sure' tone. The way he just said that... As if he knew he was right. As if she was one of his patients.

"Idealists to the end are we Ms. Dawes?"

She glared at him; idealism had nothing to do with it. It was about the morals and principles she had vested in this city all these years that she was reluctant to turn her back on. But she wouldn't waste time or energy she didn't have trying to get him to understand. He wasn't worth that much trouble.

Then why kiss him in your office? A soft voice reprimanded at the back of her head.

It was just some kind of morbid curiosity!, something in the air she mentally chided the voice for contradicting her as if she were some clueless idiot.

Finally shaking her head and looking back at his bruised face she re-strengthened her resolve and spoke without voice breaking "You should go now…before someone finds…"

She let it trail because somehow she didn't think reminding him of the Batman at this point would do either of them any good.

He nodded curtly, his prim and proper behavior in odd contrast with his disheveled hair and clothes. "Good bye Ms. Dawes"

He was still holding her arm firmly, as if his actions and words couldn't communicate properly with each other simultaneously …and then as if in slow motion his fingers touched her hair, tucking long loose strands behind her ear. She shuddered at the coldness in them struggling to read his wide, icy blue eyes that studied her with slightly dilated pupils.

All at once he pulled her closer, her breath caught in her throat as he murmured in her ear "When I come back…I'll have to steal you"

It was said with such a secret clarity and quiet indecency that she almost gasped in fright. But she resisted wrenching her arm away to run and looked back at him giving her a predatory, half smile.

Obviously the toxin's effect hadn't worn off yet.

"No you wont…" she said softly voice breaking over the 'wont' part of it. He raised both his eyebrows superiorly, nodding both eerily and eagerly towards her "Oh yes… I will come back Ms. Dawes"

Her eyes started to brighten with traitorous tears as she repeated what she had said to herself "No you won't"

"I'm not like you Crane…go find your equal" She was about to say evil but caught herself.

His lips twitched again into an almost smile before his gaze over her significantly softened "Remember Ms. Dawes with all this evil around you it's impossible not to be affected by at least some of it"  
She considered that…and then spat back viciously "I'm not incognito" It burned her that he could even thin of her like that…like she was the same.

"I hope so… for your own sake"

He tilted his head to a side and nodded gently at her bewildered form, then just as suddenly as he had pulled her to him he had let go, letting her stumble back a little, then turning around and walking away.

Rachel held her breath, something, she didn't know what was almost vying to be a lose cannon and stop him from going in that direction, something grated at her eyes and let loose a few tears that spilled down with such shameless clarity that she hastily rubbed them away.

He didn't stop walking expect for a slight pause in stride before he turned the corner and disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

_**I'm derailed by all your conscious lies**_

_**Gone, because I've collapsed so gracelessly**_

_**My frailty drives your unconscious truth to the brim of my final morning**_

_**So here I lie and wait because I'm derailed by your unconscious desire for this impossible silence **_

_**- SunnyRosVille**_

Dawn rose steadily within the shadows of Gotham City, the sounds of cars whizzing by had faded somewhat, they say that the 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' to Rachel Dawes the ruined city-scape and the day by day declining … was more than just a city moving towards urban decay. To her it was more than just a city strife with political and mafia wars. More than just a city struggling within the grips of rising crime level.

She had grown up in slightly better times, led a happy childhood which is why the slow depreciation of all the good things of this city bothered her so much.

Rachel sipped her coffee unperturbed by the fact that she probably hadn't even napped in over 48 hours and the constant feed of coffee might drive her nuts eventually like some of the Arkham asylum patients. She couldn't sleep not unless her latest case was won and the criminals were brought to justice. Until, she did her part of cleaning up Gotham.

Maybe saying that she had dedicated her life to it would sound corny or give others the impression that she was riding the high dark horse to nowhere land. Too many people have doubted her ability to affect change in Gotham and that it in self made her strive harder to achieve it.

After all life what was life about other than achieving unattainable goals.

As the new Assistant District Attorney, it was her job to help put the real criminals behind bars where they belong, people were depending on her, Gotham was depending on her. She cracked her knuckles and started flipping through the case files, the gruesome crime reports and pictures connected to the latest crime lord threatening the city's stabilization.

Carmine Falconi.

There were pictures and statements from victims of his extortionists, the rapes and murders he had part in or had committed himself. The corruption charges alone could probably put him away for half his remaining life, and that's only if they managed to indict him.

A small picture slipped through the folder and landed soundlessly in her lap. She sighed searching for a stapler, lose papers or pictures in a file annoyed her, she hated being flustered in front of a judge and jury looking for a piece of paper that was supposed to be there held in place properly in the first place. She found her small stapler under the many folders on her desk and stopped just as she was about to staple the picture in the right place.

It was Bruce Wayne. Handsome even as a young eight year old, a picture taken with his parents, the last picture probably before they had been murdered at the fateful opera they visited. The said picture was a part of Carmine Falconi's file because of the murder of Bruce's parents committed by a felon on Carmine's payroll. The relevant details of what weapon was used and how many bullets were fired were still present in her file, the crime scene photos of them have always daunted her for as long as she could remember, Maybe it's because of the changes it brought in Bruce or maybe because it was her turn to see Gotham change in front of her young eyes into a flourishing city of crime and tragedy.

Death and tragedies imminently always changed lives, more so then death and taxes. Bruce Wayne's long disappearance was a testament to that. He disappeared after the murderer of his parents was assassinated by one of Carmine Falconi's goons. She had been so infatuated with his tragic past that she hated and sympathized with him simultaneously for disappearing off the face of the earth and not even having the decency to say something to her. Sometimes the thought of all she accomplished on his absence as the Assit. Disctrict attorney of Gotham while he was off doing god knows what with his time made her feel smug. Yes, she liked to think she was a proud individual, proud of her determination in facing off with the many crime lords and low life's to the very end even if the odds were not in her favor.

At least she didn't run when duty called.

But even with all the smugness and chime of a grown woman who was doing her best to make change, she didn't even know if there was a benchmark for that …Seeing Bruce Wayne after he had returned to Gotham shook her up. His face was more rugged and strife with worries and turmoil he never cared to share with her, in those moments all the smugness of the years of hard work and foundation she had painstakingly carved and cemented seemed like nothing. His eyes still searched justice and retribution for his loss. None of which she could provide in the form of a friend or an attorney at law yet.

She expected them to be strangers after all this time but when he returned it was as if he walked back into his life with the same ingenuity and smooth resourcefulness as eight years back. Maybe even better, He seemed to have defined a purpose to his life or had an epiphany because the vigor that had dissolved from his eyes at the unjust murder of his parent's murderer had returned. He didn't share this with her she saw it all in the unspoken looks they had shared. The very idea that there was something between them, if anything she wasn't sure stopped her from sounding her angry rants she had long stored for this day. She waited for his return many years after law school and internship. Maybe he felt he had done her a favor by leaving her alone and not admitting or disclosing any feelings he might have had for her or still had. The very idea that she still longed for some admission of feelings from him only angered her further.

She wanted to be rude, unaccommodating and avoid him whenever it suited her, but every now and then there would be a look he gave her …a look of clear sincerity and trust she had craved to find since he left and failed. All the bitchy remarks and frowns she had practiced in her mind would then self-zap. She wanted to see him more but didn't want him to assume she had been pining for his return or was afflicted emotionally whenever he drew away his attentiveness from her. She was still a woman of confidence and self assuredness.

The shrill ring of her phone startled her half out of her seat…she composed herself, picking up the receiver and simultaneously looking for her watch, it was too early. The only calls this early were about deaths or delays in court proceedings, she dreaded both. It had had taken a long time for her to get Carmine Falconi in the system and so help her god if something's happened to all that hard work…

"Hello? Is this Ms Dawes?"

Rachel blanched for a minute she knew the voice from somewhere but couldn't place it at the moment, she wracked her brains trying to remember but in her head the voice remained nameless, maybe it was all the coffee "Yes, its Rachel…who's this?"

"Dr. Crane… the physiatrist for the defendant Mr. Falconi"

"Crane" she mouthed the word slowly, with practiced disdain, because it wasn't particularly a name you wanted to hear of or from first thing in the morning before proceedings.

"We have been acquainted on other cases of criminal convictions before, Ms Dawes" it annoyed her how he said her name, as if he were speaking to a child who didn't understand psychiatric English. Rachel always pictured people on the other end of the line, what they would be doing while they were speaking to her, doodling…making funny faces in the mirror or watching their secretary parading around in short skirts.

In Jonathan Crane's case she imagined him to be setting up a row of dominos in a large sinister circle and then knocking them down with glee. The thought was vivid and disturbing and it was wholly possible he was capable of doing it right this minute. And that disturbed her in many mind prickling ways.

"Ms. Dawes?.." he said again.

"Yes I know who you are Dr. Crane, do you even know what time it is?" she finally found her watch it was 6:35 am and she was feeling very cranky about answering the phone now "And how did you get my number?"

There was a soft click on the other side maybe a tape recorder? Or glasses he had put down. Yes she remembers him having heavy glasses. "I wasn't aware that you were asleep, you sound very wide awake…in psychiatric studies the presence or dark circles usually indicates a disturbed sleeping pattern or insomnia, so I concurred quite rightly you must be awake" She seethed silently on the other end, how pompous and condescending of him to comment on her sleep or non sleep. Who did he think she was? His assistant?

"As for your number, Ms Dawes, the defense has been made aware of details to contact you whenever needed, And as you will recall again I am with the defense" he paused momentarily soaking up her seething silence before adding "But I do apologize if I've disturbed you at this hour, it was convenient for me to speak to you at this time and you were not available at your office"

This hour was convenient for him? Why what did have to do after, go and find more criminals to protect and serve in Arkham? And release them in Gotham like worsening poision… She didn't add that though.

"With due respect Crane..." she spat the words, no doubt he heard and was smiling at himself in victory over having incensing her "This is my personal number and I'm pretty sure it hasn't been made 'aware' to anyone expect personal acquaintances and as you will recall …you aren't one of them"

"Well" he said like he hadn't expected that and her words had hurt "I digress, it was worth a try …it was in the public records, I own many telephone directories as with our work we require to make calls to.." she was tired of listening about his work, so she interrupted him before it could turn into another mind numbing, condescending speech and she ended up throwing the phone against the wall really, really hard, Besides he would probably use it against her to hold her in contempt with the court, if he was recording any of it. "What do you want Crane?...i'm busy, trying to defend the city, that sort of a thing..but I guess that's something we don't have in common?"

"On the contrary Ms. Dawes, we have much in common, we both have set goals and are only after doing the right thing, although according to you I'm aiding and doing wrong, I could easily say the same but I believe we can help each other and try to do the right thing"

She faked a loud yawn into the phone on purpose and rolled her eyes "I'm bored Crane what do you want?" He didn't speak for a moment and she contemplated putting the phone down and let him ring again and again with her hanging up each time. The image was comical to her but it felt a tad childish and she was a gown up capable of handling unscrupulous schmoozer's like Crane without raging a technological war.

"I would suggest for you to do what's right…" she only blinked at that and started to flip over case files

"And what's that Crane? Free the zoo of criminals and cheer for their mental health? Oh wait, you're already taking care of that aren't you?" She expected him to break out of his formal routine once in a while and use curse words or get rude with her but he remained stoically neutral and formal, and that annoyed her more than being called on 6:30 in the morning by psychiatrist who thinks he can 'analyze' her into changing her priorities.

"If that's the way you feel, people of my position are often misunderstood…many years from now my studies and I will be renowned and you will be left combing through the debris to find a clue as to find a way to understand and change the human mind as I have found" She remained quiet, she had several unlady-like responses to that mad crack but the intensity with which he believed it faltered her a bit and she lost her pace a little bit.

"Ms. Dawes I think it will be better for you to withdraw your case…we both know it's highly unlikely any motion in your favor will come to pass" Rachel immediately restrained from asking him if he were insane? It wouldn't sound very professional after all he was the head of psychiatry, so she tried to take a more understanding route.

"And why do you even think for a minute I would consider doing that Crane?" She grabbed the stress ball and gave it and the phone a hard squeeze. Something clicked or chinked again, He's put on his glasses back or knocked down the dominos and was watching them fall on each other.

"Because I'm sure you hold your own safety in the highest regards…previous Asst. DA's have suffered terrible fates trying to bring down criminals like Falconi"

She stood up then, it was more than enough, if his purpose was to try and rattle her into caving then he was on the very wrong end of the stick and she was seriously considering telling him to become a patient of Arkham asylum "And you're concerned for my safety are you Crane?"

"I am merely presenting a warning for concern on your part, why not give us a chance to change things this time Ms. Dawes, isn't it a better proposition than handing down your own death sentence?" Rachel bristled this time she would be rude and childish and unprofessional if she liked because Crane had crossed the bar of her professional courtesy and she there was too much coffee in her system to sit still.

"Only people like you are selfish enough to bow down to corruption and scared for their own skin…so don't worry about me Crane, I'm pretty good with just getting hundreds of people Carmine owes, some justice…trust me I can die happy the minute they declare his sentence..the crime rate in this city alone will drop like a crashed stock market" She snapped her fingers close to the phone "And that's what I call change"

"Well, then I commend you on your unabashed bravery over this Rachel, but I think we both know very well how much the promise of death rattles you and has rattled you before"

She froze at that "What..?" They had rarely ever been on first name basis.

"You should reconsider your strategy to bring down crime Ms Dawes that all I'm insinuating, good luck"

She hung on to the phone wanting to remain silent, he had kicked her too hard this time and she could not think of a catchy come back to silence him. It jarred her nerves, she hated the idea that he 'thought' he knew her so well or something. Her mind drew a blank he was still at the end of the other line and she wasn't sure what he was waiting for ? an admission?

"Don't call on this number again Dr Crane or I will have to put a restraining order against you and that can really hurt your defendants chances whether they manage to kill me or not" She put as much venom in her words before delivering them to him. She doubted it affected him.

"I am sorry to call at this hour, if it was inconvenient to you" She answered him by putting the phone down as hard as she could. Contempt my ass.

The phone call had ruined her whole train of thought about the case, she needed to go for a run to clear her head. It's not so much the phone call as his last sordid attempt to foil her case with a personal attack that bothered her._ 'I think we both know very well how much the promise of death rattles you and has rattled you before'_

She splashed her face with the coldest water she could bear and went for a run.

---------……………..---------------

A/N: Hello viewers and reviewers, I have received many requests for this story to be updated and at first I thought of keeping it as a stand alone fic but now I have decided to get my self back in gear and give it a go, im going to write it and hopefully ...very hopefully it will be liked.

I will later on maybe rewrite a little of the chapter again but I had to get the ball rolling so here we are. i just hope it doesn't dissapoint.

Xxx

R


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